1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a child-resistant closure for use on a cap of a container capable of dispensing fluids.
2. The Related Art
Unattended children have been accidentally poisoned or injured when curiosity has led them to sample household products. Toxic products have included bleaches, drain cleaners, detergents and candy resembling pills. Government regulations have been issued requiring childproof packaging for many of these hazardous substances.
Engineering a child-resistant closure presents many challenges. Not only must the safety device hinder opening by a child but it must nevertheless be openable by adults having limited manual dexterity. Access must be designed for the older group who may be suffering from arthritis, age-induced loss of strength or other causes lessening their dexterity. Simply stated, an engineer is presented with an external tight performance brief.
A multi-chamber dispensing package for a mouthrinse to separately store peroxide and bicarbonate solutions and simultaneously dispense both streams has been under development for several years. Challenges in this area have been met through inventions described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,950 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,312, both to Gentile. Ethanol, a potentially hazardous substance, is a common ingredient in mouthrinses. Government regulations will soon require childproof caps on certain ethanol containing mouthrinse products such as proposed for dispensing in the aforementioned multiple chamber package. Up to the present, there has been no suitable packaging technology available.
The literature has recorded a variety of child-resistant closure systems. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,770 (Sledge et al.) describes a closure having a base portion and a cap hingedly connected thereto. An elongated, flexible, resilient post extends upwardly from the base with an enlarged upper end. When the cap is brought towards a closed position, the elongated upper end passes through an aperture in the cap top wall and assumes an orientation which interferes with opening of the cap. A similar concept is described in each of U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,221 (Vere), U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,260 (Pehr), U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,017 (Rohr) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,041 (Pehr) wherein a flexible upright locking lever or tongue is tensioned to fit through an opening in a covering cap.
Another approach is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,352 (Pehr) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,495 (Lorscheid et al.). These patents employ a cap or lid hingedly attached to a base. A resilient latch or tongue formed on the cap or lid is oriented downwardly to retainingly engage a cooperating latching device formed in the base.
A problem with many of the known devices is that they are either insufficiently childproof or too difficult for an older adult to open. Another problem is that some of the devices are insufficiently liquid leak proof, the result of which causes product spillage during shipping and handling.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant closure which passes government standards.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a child-resistant closure that seals sufficiently to prevent product leakage during shipping and handling.